Ahascragh/Fohenagh fail to fire in All-Ireland final

Ahascragh/Fohenagh  0-6

REGRET is not the longest word in the English dictionary but around Ahascragh/Fohenagh this week one suspects it may well be the heaviest following their below par performance against Kilkenny champions Carrickshock in a disappointing All-Ireland intermediate club hurling final at Croke Park last Saturday.

For the third consecutive weekend, a Galway club side that you would have felt had a realistic chance of claiming a victory in the All-Ireland series failed to spring out of the blocks when the ball was thrown in and it was to cost them dearly.

These games are all about making a statement of intent as early as possible but Ahascragh/Fohenagh – just as St. Thomas’ and Corofin had done in their respective All-Ireland series games – found themselves on the backfoot from the off as their opponents dictated the pace of the contest.

Indeed, the Galway champions couldn’t catch a breath in those early stages and by seven minutes the game had already begun to slip away from them as Carrickshock raced four points clear. By 16 minutes, now six points down and no score on the board, the task was becoming insurmountable. On 23 minutes, when Carrickshock rifled home a penalty, this fixture was done and dusted. Sin é.

It was a tough station for Ahascragh/Fohenagh who, in fairness, were playing against physically superior and more experienced opponents but in saying that they would have believed – and rightly so – that they were going to have a right cut at this one . . .  at some stage of the game. Unfortunately, they didn’t.

It was not so much that Carrickshock were outstanding – what they were was consistent in their play right around the park – but that Ahascragh/Fohenagh just couldn’t find any sort of rhythm whatsoever. In this respect, as a team, and individually, they seriously under-performed.

The lack of fluidity in their play was reflected, if anything, in their retention of possession – or lack of. Unlike St. Thomas’ and Corofin, who struggled to win their own ball from the restart, Ahascragh/Fohenagh worked the short puck-out to good effect with Padraic Mannion and Paul Gavin the main recipients.

The success of short puck-outs relies on a myriad of factors.  One is good delivery from both goalkeeper and, subsequently, the receiver and, on this front, these were not too bad although there were a couple of instance where the clearance to the inside lines could have been better.

There is also an onus on the forwards when this happens to either show for the ball or make the selfless runs to create space but, sadly, this did not happen and, as a result, Carrickshock were able to deal capably with a far too static Ahascragh/Fohenagh attack.

Possession was turned over and, inevitably, the ensuing passage of textbook counter-attacking play concluded with a score for the victors down the other end.

Extended coverage in this week's Connacht Tribune